The Heart of a Witness

February 15, 2026|The Heart of a Witness|John 1:19-34

JD Cutler

Click here for sermon audio

This morning we continue our journey through the Gospel of John. We come now to the narrative proper, after John’s prologue. We saw in verses 1-5 of the prologue that Jesus is the Eternal Word of God, the means by which everything was created, and the life and light of men. Then Pastor Will led us to see in verses 14-18 of the prologue that Jesus, the Eternal Word, entered His creation in the flesh in the incarnation, bringing grace upon grace and revealed the Father first to his disciples and then to all who believed in their testimony about Jesus. Then drawing from the words of scripture, Pastor Will highlighted that all of this requires a response. We see this both in verse 6 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace, but also in verse 12. John 1:12 “12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,”.

This of course is the entire reason that John wrote down his experience with Jesus while he was on Earth. John 20:30–31“30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Because of icemageddon 2026, we were not able to gather to look at verses 6-13 of the prologue, but instead of going back I wanted to continue with verses 19-34. Conveniently for us, they are interwoven in a way that will let us move forward and still touch on the verses we missed.

In verses 6-13 the Apostle John introduces a character named John, which we often refer to as John the Baptist. He did so in the context of his purpose, he was sent from God as a witness to bear witness to the true light, the word made flesh, the light of the world. As the Apostle begins his narrative, he shows us what John’s witness looked like in reality, and in doing so, shows us the first human to recognize and bear witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God in his public ministry.

John the Baptist is a striking witness.

He bursts on the scene after some 400 years of what we call the intertestamental period. A period that God gave no new revelation, that God raised up no prophets. But he was far from inactive. During this period Jerusalem was under heavy Greek influence, and then Roman. During this time two classes of Jews formed, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Two of the most prominent opposing forces during Jesus’ ministry. The Jewish system shifted towards the scriptures giving rise to synagogues and scribes. Along with the Roman roads and their domination over a vast area, two factors that became crucial in the spread of Christianity after the resurrection and ascension. God was preparing the world for his incarnation. For the Jews this was a tumultuous time, but one where they were, as a nation, looking for the Messiah to come that would free them from Roman rule.

Into this situation, John the Baptist steps out of the wilderness, looking like a prophet of old, calling God’s people to repent for the Kingdom of God was at hand.

The Bible describes John in Matthew 3:4 “4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.”

He was unflinching in his call for all Jews to repent, telling the pharisees and sadducees,

English Standard Version Chapter 3

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

He was unflinching in his call for holiness, standing in opposition to Herod for taking his brother’s wife, a truth that eventually cost him his life. From what we know of him, he was rough, tough, and unyielding in his demeanor, and unwavering in his message of repentance and preparation for the one who would come after him. While we might think someone so harsh and openly honest in their message might fail to draw a crowd, the Jewish people responded in droves.

We read in Mark 1:5 “5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” Along with the crowds, tax collectors and soldiers both came to him asking what must they do to repent.

Because of all this, people began to question in their heart, according to Luke 3, whether he might be the Christ.

I say all of that to help us understand that the general population was ready to stand with John the Baptist, they were ready to accept him as the Christ, all he had to do was say the word. Also, to help us understand the context of our scripture today. If you haven’t already, open your Bibles to John 1 at verse 19.

Let’s read verses 19-34 together as you follow along in your Bibles or on the screens.

John 1:19–34 ESV

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” 24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

From this text, I want to look at the Heart of A Witness or 'what makes a faithful witness?'

I believe from the great ministry of John the Baptist we will see that there are three things that a witness must to get right to be both an effective and a faithful witness. First…

I. YOU MUST KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

The Apostle John begins his description of the testimony of John, not with what he says about Jesus but what he says about himself. Inevitably word made it back to Jerusalem to the religious leaders, from our text we see the Pharisees in particular. So they sent priests and levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”, which could either be a summary of their questioning or he saw through it to the real question. Are you the Christ? From the way John records his answer, we can see that plainly enough.

Think about the weight of that question from these religious figures for a moment. Are you the promised and prophesied one? Are you the one we are waiting for? Are you the one who is going to lead us out of the bondage of Rome into freedom? Are you the one all of our religious, political, and national hopes are on?

As we said in the introduction, because of John’s ministry and presence, many were questioning in their hearts whether John was the Christ. Now faced with the question, what does John do?

It would have been easy enough for him to start a revolution, to whip these repentant and sincere Jews into a frenzy to storm into Jerusalem, raising his banner. I mean history tells us that there were many before and even after Jesus that did just that.

But for a man who has seemingly rejected the comforts of this life and embraced his purpose, he rejects any fleshly temptation and confesses. I am not the Christ. John uses a double repetition of the word confessed along with the word deny to emphasize the clarity in which John rejected any notion that he himself was the Christ. John uses this literary form in his letter a couple of times, combining both a positive he confessed and a negative did not deny. In essence, we see from the apostle that John the Baptist gave not the slightest grounds for such views nor entertained them in the least.

So they asked him, what then? Are you Elijah? Now this is a fascinating question. This ties back into the silence of the intertestamental period. The very last words of the very last book of the Old Testament is Malachi 4:5. It says, “5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”

Now this is interesting, John says, I am not and speaks the truth and yet Jesus says in Matthew 17:10–13 “10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.”

John says he is not Elijah, Jesus says that he is Elijah, what gives? The key to understanding this is in the perspective of the one who is asking the question. John is not Elijah reincarnated, he is not the literal spirit of Elijah come back to Earth. So he is absolutely right in saying he is not Elijah, but in the sense that he is in the Spirit of Elijah, as the forerunner of Christ, he is Elijah, so that Jesus can say that Elijah has come.

So they asked him, are you the prophet? Interpreters differ on the wording here on whether they are asking are you a prophet, or are you the prophet. I tend to lean towards the idea of them asking, are you The Prophet. In the end it doesn’t really matter. If they saw the prophet that Moses foretold about in Deuteronomy 18:15 “15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—” as a separate person than Christ, John is not that. If they meant are you a prophet, like the prophets of old bringing new prophetic revelation, then while Jesus affirms that he is indeed a prophet and even greater than a prophet, John clearly states he is not what they are thinking when they ask are you a prophet.

Having gone through their list, are you the Christ, are you Elijah, are you the prophet, they finally ask, who are you, what do you say about yourself?

23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” This imagery comes from Isaiah 40, which is part of a long word from God that goes through chapter 48. John is not just borrowing language from the Old Testament, he is proclaiming where God’s people are in terms of their redemptive history. In Isaiah, God is comforting his people, saying that the exile is ending, forgiveness is arriving, God himself is coming, a new and greater exodus is beginning, and the true king is on the way, so prepare your hearts. In short, Isaiah 40–48 promises that after judgment, God Himself will come to forgive, redeem, and reign — and John declares that moment has arrived.

John is not the promised Messiah, John is not Elijah returned, he is not the foretold prophet, he is simply a voice declaring in the wilderness that God is about to do what he promised. In humility, John doesn’t even seem to say he is the voice, there is no definite article, merely a voice.

Who is he? Who does he say that he is? Nothing in light of the one who is coming.

In fact, as we see in his answer to why he is baptizing, that he says he is not even worthy to untie the strap of the sandal of the one who stands among them.

This is the question friends.

As a witness of Christ, as a disciple who has been charged with spreading the gospel, who do you say that you are?

A faithful witness doesn’t draw attention to themselves, but rather to who they are declaring. Now this doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter how we live, in fact, the New Testament emphatically states that it matters how we live and that our lives can influence those who observe them, but, and here is where some people miss the point entirely, your life is not the point, the one who transformed your life is the point.

As a witness of Christ, as a disciple who has been charged with spreading the gospel, who do you say that you are?

John was a powerful witness not because his life was so radically different, although it was, he was a powerful witness because he knew that he was just a voice to declare the one who is greater. John was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light that was coming into the world.

None of us deserved being saved, just like John was chosen and sent by God, so the Bible says that the Father has chosen his children and we are sent by Christ into the world to make disciples of all nations.

None of us are worthy even to untie the sandals of Jesus, and yet he calls us friends, coheirs, and children of God.

When we know who we are, we don’t elevate ourselves, we don’t confuse the message, and we are well on our way to being faithful witnesses.

First, you must know who you are, second, to be an effective and faithful witness…

II. YOU MUST SEE JESUS FOR WHO HE IS.

When the time was right, John announces who Jesus is. Most commentators think this was immediately after Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness after his baptism by the hands of John, an event recorded for us in all three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Let’s revisit verses 29-31 John 1:29–31 “29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.””

Of all the imagery and titles John could have given in this moment, he chooses one that is used only by him and once by Peter in all of the New Testament, with the exception of Revelation where it is used repeatedly in John’s heavenly vision.

He could have said, behold the sun of righteousness, quoting from God’s words in Malachi.

Drawing from Isaiah where he identified himself as the voice crying out in the wilderness, he could have said, behold the glory of the Lord, or behold the herald of good news, behold the shepherd, behold the redeemer, the holy one of Israel, behold the chosen servant in whom God delights, just to name a few of the phrases from Isaiah.

Consequently, all would have been accurate names for Jesus, so why did he say, Behold, the Lamb of God?

Because John saw Jesus for who he was, the one God-ordained, God-gifted, sacrificial offering.

For the Jews that heard this, surely there minds would have been drawn to their own sacrificial systems or even the passover lamb. Maybe even to the story of their forefather Abraham and the God-provided sacrifice on the mountain.

Whatever they might have immediately thought, what a statement.

This man Jesus, walking towards John is not just a man, but the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. The word takes indicates both taking away and taking upon oneself, one including the other. He does away with sin by taking it upon himself. We will see this play out in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life as he, the sinless and perfect savior dies a sinners death, bearing the wrath of God against sin, dealing with it fully and finally for all those who believe. Not just for Israel, but for the world, people from every tribe, tongue, and nation under the curse sin. Not just some sins in the sense that their sacrificial system dealt with individual sins, but the sin, collective, both its work and its consequences.

This man Jesus, walking towards John is not just a man, but the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

With just one short declaration, John declares God’s redemptive plan in Christ Jesus who as the perfect, spotless lamb would bear the sins of the world in order to take them away.

John got right to the heart of who Jesus was and why he came.

Why is this important for a witness?

What happens when we fail to understand who Jesus is and why he came?

We are witnesses for who at that point?

A Jesus created in our own image, a false Jesus who is unable to save anyone from their sins. Listen to what the Apostle John says in verse 12 where he contrast those who rejected Jesus with those who did not. John 1:12 “12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,”

Who receives the right to become children of God? Those who receive him.

What is the indicator of receiving him? Those who believed in his name.

What does it mean to believe in his name?

The name, used in this sense is…

Word Studies in the New Testament Third Division of the Prologue. The Word Received (12–18)

Expressing the sum of the qualities which mark the nature or character of a person. To believe in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of God, is to accept as true the revelation contained in that title.

There are many that claim to believe in the name of Jesus that do not accept the Biblical revelation concerning his person or work.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, ironically embrace the title of witness but reject the biblical testimony concerning Christ.

Same with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who claim to be of Jesus Christ but reject what scripture plainly says of his person and work. All of these would claim to be witness of Jesus but none see him for who he truly is.

Even among what we might call Protestant Evangelicals, you hear all kinds of presentations concerning who Jesus is and what he did. In some circles, people are told that believing in Jesus will grant them health, wealth, and prosperity. Sometimes Jesus is presented as something that fills the Jesus shaped hole in your heart.

Friends, if we are going to be faithful witnesses to Christ, we must point people to the Jesus of Scripture, who is the eternal word of God who took on flesh in the incarnation, who lived a perfectly sinless and holy life of obedience to the Father, who willingly went to a cruel Roman cross to bear the punishment for our sins, and having taken them to the grave, he rose victorious over sin, death, and the grave, who then ascended into heaven and remains there until he comes again bodily to brings redemption to its intended end and takes those who belong to him into the presence of the Father forevermore.

Jesus did not come to make your earthly life better in the worldly sense, he came so that you might experience forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with the Father. Jesus did not come so that you would never be sick, would always have money in the bank, or drive a nice car, he came so that you might have an eternal inheritance in Heaven and everlasting life with Him.

If we don’t see Jesus for who he really is, we will end up being witnesses for some caricature of Jesus who is not the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

First, you must know who you are, second, you must see Jesus for who he is, and third, to be an effective and faithful witness…

III. YOU MUST DECLARE HIM TO OTHERS.

John understood that he was completely unworthy to even untie the sandal strap of Jesus, that Jesus was the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, and he firmly and faithfully declared Him to others. Let’s pick back up in verse 31.

John 1:19–34 ESV

31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

John’s whole ministry was to reveal the promised Messiah to Israel. God sent John the Baptist to baptize with water with the promise that one would come to be baptized on which he would see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John’s witness was that he saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him, therefore I know it is he who was before me and has come to baptize with the Holy Spirit. I have seen it and I have borne witness that this is the Son of God.

A witness testifies to what he or she has seen. By the very definition to testify of something is to speak about it. The word born witness can be described as ‘to give (not to keep back) testimony’.

The reality is that many of you who have experienced the miracle of the new birth and the indwelling of the Spirit, who have been first hand witnesses to the power of Christ in you, have never told anyone about Jesus.

Statistically, according to Barna surveys, over half of Christians say that their spiritual life is an entirely private matter. Almost the same amount indicated that they feel like it is the churches job to evangelize, not the individuals.

The reality is that many of you who have experienced the miracle of the new birth and the indwelling of the Spirit, who have been first hand witnesses to the power of Christ in you, have never told anyone about Jesus.

If we are going to be followers of Christ, then we must be willing to declare him to others, regularly and sincerely. This was literally Jesus’ last words to his disciples.

English Standard Version Chapter 24

44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Part of the problem is that in the seventies, a notion became popular, probably even with good intentions, of lifestyle evangelism. By the 80s and 90s we had new terms in our vocabulary. Like ‘friendship evangelism’. Ignorant and unbiblical sayings gained popularity like “Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.”

Here is the reality, as “lifestyle evangelism” became dominant, survey data suggests verbal gospel proclamation declined — even while Christians still affirmed evangelism as important.

In short, we quit telling people about Jesus and started hoping that our life would shine in such a way that people would ask us and then we would share Jesus.

From my experience, this has only happened one time in all of my life. Someone asked Brittany and I, as they watched all the young people we knew get divorced and have horrible marriages, how we had such a great marriage through cancer and other difficulties. I kid you not, there has never been a more perfect example of a lifestyle evangelism moment, and when we shared that it was our faith and God’s grace working in our life, she literally said, yeah well I think you guys are just lucky!

Imagine if John the Baptist would have operated this way. You may have had hundreds of Jews walking around in camel hair garments living off of wild honey and locusts, hopelessly lost and still dead in their sins. The reality is, if we are going to be faithful and effective witnesses we have to declare Jesus to those around us, we cannot stay silent and hope that people will come to Jesus by our lives.

Neither you or I can force someone to become a Christian, we can’t convince someone to be a Christian, we must simply call for them to look to Jesus in faith, like John the Baptist did.

Here is a sad reality, each week in the Catholic church priests hold up a wafer and say ‘Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world’. A Jesus that must be received through the mediation of the Church, a Jesus that does not fully take away the sin of the world, but provides things for you to do in order to experience his grace in salvation. We declare a Jesus whose atoning is fully sufficient for all those who come to him by faith. Why does that matter?

Jesus does not need us to mediate between him and those whom we witness to, he simply desires for us to be faithful witnesses and leave the mediation to him. A true witness does not draw attention to himself, expand the work of Christ, or mediate grace — he points wholly to the Lamb

My prayer today is that by considering the ministry of John the Baptist we might all learn that the heart of a witness is a heart that knows who it is, that sees Jesus for who he is, and that declares him to others.

You say, Pastor how do I do that? I’m so glad you asked.

Everything we need to remember in order to be effective witnesses is summed up in John’s statement. ‘Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’

Behold- This imperative reminds us that faith is not silent, it calls men and women to look to something outside of themselves. The Lamb of God- This statement reminds us that faith is rooted in the person and work of Christ, we call men and women to look to the Jesus as revealed in Scripture.

Who takes away the sin of the world- This statement reminds us that faith is received, we call men and women to put their hope and trust in the finished work of Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

To be an effective witness, you don’t have to renounce worldly possessions, move out into the wilderness and live off the land. You simply have to look at those around you and point to the one who saved you from your sins and tell them that he will do the same for them.

Let us pray.